Digital Chocolate suing Zynga

Digital Chocolate has moved to sue Farmville giant Zynga, claiming the company’s continued use of the Mafia Wars name is in direct contradiction of a trademark held by the mobile specialist.

According to the report on Courthouse News, the legal action on Digital Chocolate’s behalf is with reference to its 2004 mobile game Mafia Wars; a title Digital chocolate maintains it still owns.

The website reports that Digital Chocolate has claimed that Zynga ‘falsely claimed to the public, the United States Patent Office and the courts that it ‘coined’ the Mafia Wars mark and owns superior rights to the mark.’

Furthermore, Zynga apparently agreed to stop using the Mafia Wars name in a letter to Digital Chocolate a year ago, before launching a substantial marketing campaign for the game with US grocery chain 7-Eleven.

Zynga has even previously filed a lawsuit against Playdom, accusing the latter of infringement on the Mafia Wars trademark.

As well as requesting that Zynga is enjoined from using the trademark, Digital choclate wants it’s rival to engage in ‘corrective advertising’.

The case continues.